1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of reducing the incidence of infectious diseases in poultry. In another of its aspects, the invention also is concerned with a method of controlling antisocial behavior in poultry while simultaneously reducing the incidence of infectious diseases.
2. The Prior Art
Large flocks of poultry, i.e., domestic fowls collectively such as chickens, turkeys, guinea fowls, ducks and geese are often raised and/or housed in close quarters. A common food and water supply is usually provided which is accessible to the entire flock. It is not practical to maintain the individual members of the flock in isolation or provide individual sources of food and water and thus the members of the flock are constantly in intimate contact with each other and eat and drink from the same food and water sources. As a result, infectious diseases spread rapidly throughout the flock when once introduced. Poultry diseases such as pullorum, fowl paralysis, fowl pox, gapes, coccidiosis and Newcastle disease are especially difficult to control and cause large financial losses to the poultry industry each year.
A wide variety of medicines and treatments have been proposed heretofore for preventing or controlling the aforementioned poultry diseases. However, such medicines and treatments have not proved to be entirely satisfactory in all respects due to one or more inherent deficiencies such as high medicinal costs, ineffective medicines or treatments, high labor costs and/or inconvenience when administering the medicines or treatments. Additionally, in a number of instances the available medicines and treatments were specific for only one or a limited number of the aforementioned diseases and were not effective against all of the wide spectrum of poultry diseases to which an average flock is subjected.
The raising or housing of poultry in large flocks under crowded conditions tends to cause a nervous condition or disorder which results in antisocial behavior such as cannibalism and fright. As a result, poultry raisers lose large sums each year due to the larger and more aggressive fowl becoming cannibalistic and killing the smaller and weaker fowl. There is also a tendency for large flocks of poultry and turkeys in particular, to suddenly become frightened and stampede. The smaller and weaker fowl are trampled underfoot and/or are smothered thereby causing still additional large losses.
The prior art has long sought an inexpensive, effective and generally satisfactory method of reducing the incidence of a wide spectrum of the infectious poultry diseases mentioned above, and especially a method of controlling antisocial behavior in poultry while simultaneously reducing the incidence of infectious disease. However, such a method was not available prior to the present invention.